The invention relates to a ground supporting combination wall which comprises at least two tubular piles that can be rammed at least partially into the ground and a wall element inserted between two respective adjacent tubular piles. The wall element is provided with interlocks that are used to connect to profiles that are provided at the tubular piles.
A combination wall of this type is well known in the art. Such combination walls are used, for example, in river bank areas, at coastal sections or in civil engineering projects to support the ground. In such applications, the tubular piles rammed into the ground serve as support or carrier elements, typically with sheet piles hung between them as the wall elements. In this context, tubular piles refer not only to tubular piles with a circular or oval cross-section but also to tubular piles with angular cross-sections. While the tubular piles take up the forces caused by the ground and the forces generated, for example, by ground water or surge water, the primary purpose of the sheet piles, serving as wall elements, is to seal the sections between the tubular piles. The actual holding and support forces are to a great extent taken up by the tubular piles, even though the sheet piles, such as Larssen sheet piles or Hoesch sheet piles, are also designed to take up such forces due to their Z- or U-shaped design.
Due to the dramatic increase in worldwide demand for combination walls, in particular the demand for sheet piles, and an insignificant increase in the production capacity of the existing manufacturing plants, there is a need for a solution that can, at least in part, do without the use of sheet piles.